Laundry drier



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- o. BuTzBAcH LAUNDRY DRIER Filed Sept. 24I 1924 5 SheetSSheet 5 Aug. 18, 1925.

o. BUTZBACH LAUNDRY DRIER Filed' sept. 24 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug.; 1e,4 19.25.,."

UNITED' STATES erro nu'rznacn, oI` CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

` nAUNnnY Damn.

appliation med september 24, i924. seal No. 739,736.

l To all whom it mayl concern.

'Bef it knowny that I, OT'ro BUTZBACH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usel ful Improvements'in lLaundry Driers, of

which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in laundry driers. `The invention is shown incorporated in a drier of the tumbler type.

One object of theinvention is to improve thl system of .circulating dry warmed air thru the clothes containing cylinder.`

der.

Another object is' to dry -the clothes by subjecting them to sub-atmospheric pressure. i

Another object is to provide: means for introducing individual streams of air underl the clothes contained in the cylinder while -they are falling from a higherto a lower elevation.

'Another-object is to change the direct-ion of the relatively dry air thru the cylinder, periodically, in timed relation with the rotation of the cylinder.

Another object lis to provide a drier so arranged that lint from .the drying fabric cannot fall out of the cylinder but is caught by the draftl of ainand thereby removed of the suction fan.

Another object is to vprovide a cylinder having openings or perforations thru which Another object is 4to produce uniforml moisture interchange throughout the cylin'-' from the cylinder thru lthe exhaust opening' leg :and a perforate trailing Vleg with respect to direction of rotation. A' Other objects, advantages and benefits will hereinafter appearfrom a consideration I of the following 'description when taken 55 with the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a side elevati-on of the machine showing parts 1n section.

AFig.2 is a transverse section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thru the iming mechanism taken on line 3-3 of 1g. Fig.f4 is a `section taken on line 4-4 of Fig.3.

Fig. 5 is a, longitudinal' section taken on line 5 5' of Fig.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged'sectional view f the air heatingchamber and steam pipes tlrre-f in, shown in less detail in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an enlargedfragmentarysection A.iibake'n on line 7-*7a of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the drier.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation showing part in sectionV of the driving mechanism of the machine.

Fig. l0 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 11 is an end elevation. I

Fig.- 12 is a broken away elevation of the motion' changing cam shown in Figs.v 3 8o and 4.

Fig 13 is a section on 'line 13-13 of Fig. 91A A y 14 is a section taken on line 1li- 14. of Fig. 9. 85,V

In all the views the same reference characters indicate similar parts.

The character of cylinder adapted for carrying the-invention into eii'ect and which' forms the subject matter of -Some of the claims will first be specifically described and the method of operation will then be pointed out. y

The cylinder 15 is preferablyv divided into a plurality of compartments 16-1718 and 05 19 within which to contain separate batches of clothes vwhen the device is to be usedfor laundry urposes. These compartments are separati/el by recticular partitions 20, made preferably of Wire cloth. The open ends of '100 the cylinder are provided with similar par,

tition walls 20, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1.. Both ends of the .cylinder are supported by `open spoke spiders 21 from which vextends a. gudgeon shaft 22, onftheleft side viewing. Fig. 1, and which issupported in a' bearing box 23 on the frame member 24.- The frame member 25 supports the other end of the cylinder andcarries the mechanism for rotating the cylinder. From this power end of the cylinder` a shaft 26 has bearings vin the box 27. The shaft 26 and the cylinder 15 carried thereby, is driven by a gear wheel 28 and the latter is driven by a pinion 29 -from'lthe power shaft 30.v A more detailed description of the driving and controlling mechanism will hereinafter follow.'

The cylinders circumferential'wall'is di.

vided in'to a plurality of spaced, impe'rforate arcuate sections '31. One of. these sections i is hinged at 32 to provide a door which may be held closed by the latch I33. This door section may be divided into a plurality`of doors, one for each compartment, 16-1-9 inclusive or each door may be made to close l two ormore compartments.

-The cylinder is rotatable ,in acl'osedair casing 34 which is mounted-on andin open at .31', and'constit'ute one means for hold. i ling them together.

'Itis important to note that only one wall or leg of each of the ribs 36 is perforated.

.- For example, if the cylinder is to be rotated clockwise, as shown by the arrow 37 of Fig.

'2, then, in'that event, the trailing wall or' leg 38 should-be perforated, as more clearly shown in Fig. 1, and the leadingyleg 39 is imperforate. In any event the .wall of the rib upon which the clothesfres't'when they are being lifted is the imperforate wall. With suenan-arrangement the perforations 50 in the ribs cannot be closed by-contact with the clothes under any conditionof operation and, lfurthermore, under' no condition of op- .eration can lint. fromf the drying clothes fallv` outof the cylinder into the air heating chamber 35 4therebelow, .non 'can ,buts tons or otherattachments on ythe garments caught in the perforations and pulled olf. A partition wall 40 overlies the lair :2 1 heating units y4l in casing 3,5', of which there are a plurality and each unit is separately' removablefrom .the casing. The partition.

has a' transverse opening 42-which is'ab'outy equal in-.widthto the spread. ofthe legs of the ribs 'between adjacentarcuate sections .31 ofthe cylinder.'

l Dried air drawn from-.the heating chamber 35. ofthe casing 35 thru the opening 42 openingsin the wall '.38 'ofl the ribs into the cylinder l5. Y,

The casing'34 has extending axially from each ofvits ends a hollow air receiving header 43-43, and alateral extens'i'on44. One eX- tension 44 c onnectsthe interior ofthe cylinder 15 with an air conduit 45 and the other extension 44 "is, connected to'air conduit 46. These conduits, 45' and 46, are' connected to afvalve chamber 47.v In the valve chamber there is contained an .oscillatabl'e butterfly valve l48, secured to. a crank shaft 49 by means of -whichthe valve is movedl on its axis.

- An exhaust fan 50,"dr'i'veabya'riy'suitable means,'as.by .a belt aboutfthe pulley 51, is`

the'means` for drawing the moisture laden air from the cylinder and''fresh air into the air drying chamber.' lTh'eair intake ofvthe '-into the interior of the ribs, and thru the Y fanis connected by a conduit 52 to the valve chamber j47.- The4 exhaust `ordischarge openings 53 of the 'fan maybe connected to a conduit to lead the discharged" air to any desired locality; f

When thevalve 48 is in position shown in Fig. 5, the air from 'the cylinderl 15v will ,pass thru, the header l43, extension 44, thru conduit 46, into valve chamber 47 and thru conduit 52into the-fan from which it=will be" dischargedgthru'k the opening v53. When the valve is moved thru an arc about 90 degrees, the conduit/46 will be closed andconlCO duit 45 opened, whereuponthe direction of air thru the cylinder will be. reversed.

The valve 48 is oscill'ated in timed relation with the rotation of the c linder to accom-U plish this result', by'atiming mechanism 54 and the connecting rod 55 to behereinafter .more particularly described.

Mounted on the frame members .24 and 25,A and `connected at itsends. thereto by straps 5.6 is 'a ipe 57 which yis-used to tie the frame mem rstog'ether and is vutilized powers aft 30.

to sup ort bearingp'edestals for thev The timing mechanism'54 is also supported oli-the pipej57iclam ing plates 5 9.

.-.Theshaft -isf ro'vided afsolwith .bearing vsupports 60 ont e upper ends/of the frame 4alsocarriestightand 'loose pulleys 62 and 61, res vectively,f=whicl''are-tobe driven, se-

lective y by as' bolt. l63` shiftable ffromone to the othery by the belt shifter/64. The belt is 'shown as on theloose'pulley62- The beltv :shifting device consistsof the slidable shaft '65 mounted `on' the-ibracket566 which is se-v cured totheframe fnfielnher25.y Belt-guiding fingers 67-arelsecured=to theslidable 'shaft 65 and {overlie thefbelt 6 3 to shift'it alternatively between'the, pulleys 61 and 62. A bellcrank lever 681s pivoted" on the 4the slot 71. Rocking the bell crank lever 68 reciproca-tes the shaft 65 to shift the belt.

The arm 73 of the bell crank lever 68 is connected b a link 74 to another bell crank lever 75 at 6. The arm 77 of this lever is connected'by a link 78 to a hand lever 79 which is secured to a short reciprocatable shaft 80 and which moves axially therewith.l

' It is now manifest that when the hand lever 79 is moved into position shown in Fig. '11, the belt will be moved from the driving pulley 61 to the loose pulley 62. Before the vbelt can be shifted, as described, the shaft 80, pinion 81, crank 82, lever 79 'and the angle plate 83 must be moved laterally to dotted line position, shown in Fig. 9. This cannot be done until the angle .plate 83 which is fixed to shaft 80, has been moved outwardly to clear the fixed angle plate 84 at which time geared pinion 81 is moved,

"so that it is out pf mesh with the cylinder driving gear wheel 28.

' When the lever 79 is vthus moved to shift the belt from the loose to the driving pulley an integral lip 85 is rotated with the handle and acts as a' stop. against the angle plate 84 so that the shaft 80 cannot be moved axially back to its idle position until the handle 79vhas been movedback to idle position, as shown in Fig. 11 when the driving belt 63 will again be shifted to the idle or loose pulley.

When shaft 80 has been moved into either1 of its described positions, it may be clamped and held in said position by the slidable clamping bolt 86. The outer end of bolt 86 is threaded in the' hub of the handle -87. The bolt is cut away at 88, to permit the rod 80'to slide freely and when the rod is in selected position the handle 87 is turned to draw the bolt outwardly to clamp and hold the rod.

When the pinion 81 is in mesh with gear wheel 28, rotation of the handle 82 will rotate the cylinder 1:5 until door 31 in a side-` wall thereof is brought into position shown in Fig. 2, to register with the door 90, in thev casing 34, and which is hingedv at 91. A

latch-92 holds the door '90 closed and the counterwe'ights 93 hold it open. These weights-.are connected to cables 94 which pass over pulleys 95 supported on shaft 96 which is supported on standards 97 fixed 81 has been moved to an idle position out of mesh with gear wheel 28.

It is, therefore, impossible to rotate the cylinder 15l by power while its -door 31 stands in open position.

In the chamben 35 enclosed by the casing 35 the air dr Iing and heating units 41 are contained. hese units are self contained and may separately be introduced in- 4to said chamber and independently removed therefrom.

Each unit comprises a header to which a steam inlet pipe 101 is connected and another header v102, to which a steam exhaust pipe 103 is connected.

A plurality of pipes 104 are connected inl the header 100 and these pipes are surrounded by pipes 105 respectively. The pipes 105 are closed at their outer ends and, therefore,`steam,' hot water or other liquid, heating agent will flow thru the pipes and headers as shown bythe arrows in Fig. 6.

The doors 106, one on each side of the casing 35 are removable. and are held closed by buttons 107.

The casing 35 has foraminous doors 108 thru which cold air enters to be heated and dried casing. l

The valve48 in the valve chamber 47, 1s

by the heating units 41 within the 1 oscillated periodically in timed relation with `mesh with a mitre' gear 112, the latter is secured to shaft 113. To this shaft is secured a gear pinion 114 in mesh with a gear wheel 115 loose ion a parallel shaft 116. To the gear'wheel 115 is secured a gear pinion 117 which isalso loose on shaft 116. The pin- Iion 117 is in mesh with gear wheel 118 which is loose on shaft 113. l, j

' Secured to gear wheel 118 vis a disk 119 which is blindexcept for about eight teeth 120 included between lines 121 vand 122.

Extending laterally from the disk 119 is a looking rlng having a gap 124 spanning the teeth 120.

A gear pinion 125 is secured to shaft 116 by a key 126. -A shield 127 extends over the teeth of pinion 125 -except as it is cut away on opposite sides, as at 128. The gap provided with the cut away part cooperates with the ring 123 to hold the'shaft 116 stationary until the teeth 120, in disk 119, engage the exposed teeth of the pinion 125 at which time the part 129 of the shield 127 will pass into the gap 124 made in the ring 123, thus permitting the shaft 116 to be rotated one half of a revolution. During the remainder of the revolution ofthe disk 119 the ring 123 with its engagement with shield 127 will hold the shaft 116 from being rotated in a manner similar toa Geneva movement.

Secured to the shaft 116 is a'rank arm y 131 which Aoperates valve 48 by the connectin link 55 and the crank 130.

y this meansthe direction of air thru the cylinder is changed in regularperiods in timed relation with the rotation of the cylinder 15.

In Fig. 2 an outline of the batch of clothes is shown at 132, and it will be observed that when the cylinder is rotated clockwise that the perforations in the ribs 39 are never covered by the clothes. 0n the contrary they are left open and air is @thereby introduced under the clothes.

To prevent air from entering space 113r in the upper part of the casing 34, drag plates 134 extend longitudinally of the cylinder and bear upon segments-31. Rods 134 pass thru the ribs 36 and thru rings 20 which bear'the reticular parti20 to provide the perforate partitions. The ribs may be transversely slotted at their apices -to permit the rings 20 to enter.

One object for changing direction of travel of air thru the cylinder 15 is to more uniformly dry the contents. v

Having describedy my invention `what l claim is 1. A laundrydrier having a rotatable cylinder comprising a seriesvof longitudinally extending, circumferentiallyspaced, imperforate segments and internally located h ollow perforate ribs connecting said sel 2. A laundry drier having a rotata le cylinder comprising a series of longitudinallyextending, oircuinferentially-spaced, imperforate segments and internally-located, hollow ribs connecting said segments, each Arib having perforations inone wall onlyi'and said perforate walls all facing in one circumferential direction uniformly' throughout the structure.

3. A laundry `drier having la rotatable cylindercomprising a series of longitudinally,--

extending circumferentially-spaced, im erforate segments; internally-located Iho low ribs, each rib having one perforate and one imperforate wall and uniformly arranged, and a plurality of. perforate partitions in said cylinder dividing it into a plurality of compartments all of which are'open thru the perforations in said ribs. f i '4. A laundry drier having a rotatable cylinder' open at both ends and com rising a plurality of longitudinally exten ing, circumferentially-spaced,

y ments; a plurality of hollow, internally-located ribs, each ribv connecting the side edges of adJacent segments and'each rib having` one perforate and one imperforate wall arents.

imperforate seg-y ranged symmetrically about the cylinder; perforate partitions dividing said cylinder into compartments vent-ing thru said ribs1 and means to cause air to pass thru said ribs, icylinder and perforated partitions.

5. A laundry drier having a rotatable cylinder open at both lends and having a peripheral wall divided" .into circumferentially spaced imperforate segments; hollow V- shape ,ribs having one perforate vand Vone imperforate wall located within the cylinderl and connected to the longitudinal edges of adjacent segments; perforate partitions dividing the cylinder into compartments and rods extending thru said ribs and said partitions to hold the parts together.

6. A laundry drier comprising a rotatable cylinder having a plurality of spaced iinperforate periphera segments; hollow internal, ribs, each rib having one perforate and one imperforate wall connected to the `longitudinal edges of adjacent segments,

tend; a casing containing air heating elements, said casing open to said ribs and means to cause air to flow from one casing to the other thru said c linder.

7. A laundry drier having a rotatable cylinder open at'v both ends and having a peripheral wall divided into circumferentially s aced imperforate segments; hollow V- siiape ribs having one perforate and oneiin perforate wall located within the cylinder and connected to the longitudinal' edges oi adjacent segments; erforate partitions dividing the cylinder into com artments and rods extendin thru said ribs, means to cause air to ow from one casing to the other thru said cylinder in a given direction and means to periodically change vthe direction of air flow thru said cylinder.

8. -A laundry'drie'r comprisin a rotatable cylinder open at .both ends an having in ternal longitudinally extending 'perforate ribs thru which air passes; means to drive the cylinder; means to exhaust the cylinder alternately `from said ends and meansoperable by said driving means to periodically change direction of air thru said cylinder.

9. A laundry drier comprising a rotatable cylinder open at bothends, and having openings thru-the periphery to admit air; a cas-V ing containing air-drying means communieating with said o enings; an air receiving header at each en 1n communication with the interior of said cylinderat its respectivev fonds; a valve. casin thrusaid cylinder.

10. A laundry drier comprising a cylinder having a door in its peripheral wall; a casing in whichvthe cylinder is contained having' a door in,V one of its sidewalls; power `5 drlvlng means tolrotate the cylinder; hand driving means to rotate the cylinder to bring said doors into register and meansV to lock v the power driving means from' use when said hand driving meansis in operative po- 10 sition.

11. A laundry drier comprising a rotatable cylinder having open ends and longiing in its longitudinal upper Wall near its mid-portion and having substantially open ends; a plurality of independently separable air-drying units in said casing, and meansto draw air thru said casing and a1- ternativ'ely thru the respective ends of said cylinder.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand.

- OTTO BUTZBACH.

Ytudinal openings; a casing extending longitu'dinally of the cylinder having' an open- 

